E458 



^^^^^^1 


LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


III 


1 


lllllli II 



DQD0t3lH70flE 



0' .i*«- "> V 






























^"■nj. 















'OK 



U.n't 









b' ^^ 








^9^ 




v<i 






^. *' 








Loyalty to Government. 


j 

i 
1 


T ■ 




■ i 
1 


SERMON 




i 1 


Rev. J. P. LuNDY, -^ 


- 


1 


PREACHED AT 






EMA^-UEL CHURCH, 






HOLMESBURG, 




1 


Sunday, April. 21, 1861. 

1 " ^ pool '^ ^ 


1 


\ 


PHILADELPHIA: 


•; 




LINDSAY k BLAKISTON. 

1^ j': 





SUBMISSION TO CIVIL AUTHORITY. 



Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's 
sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto gov- 
ernors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punish- 
ment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. — 
1 Peter ii. 13 and U. 

The Family, the State and the Church, stand in 
mutual relation to one another, as God's ordinances, 
for the good of man in society. The family, coeval 
with the creation of the human race, is a divine in- 
stitution for the preservation of our species in the 
earth, and is the foundation of both State and Church. 
Its office, furthermore, is to guard, protect, and 
train the race during the period of helpless infancy 
and youth, in order that it may be fitted for the du- 
ties of that manhood which is to be spent in the 
vservice of State and Church. Moreover, it is the 
home of the affections, sympathies, kindness, and 
all the tender attributes of our nature, where all 
these are developed and nurtured. The State is 
but the expansion of the Family, in the sense of 



being a social compact for the common good. Its 
office is to protect its subjects in life, property and 
reputation, as well from internal rebellion as from 
external oppression. It is, therefore, the safeguard 
of the church, and loyalty to the State is not only 
a Christian duty, but a matter of the highest inte- 
rest. Inasmuch as all government is from God for 
the good of the governed, so it is plain that sub- 
mission to the lawful authority of the land is a mat- 
ter which concerns the conscience and the welfare 
of every citizen. National existence depends just 
as much for its continuance upon the principles of 
equity and justice on the part of rulers, and of sub- 
mission and obedience on the part of the people, as 
individual existence does on an observance of the 
laws of life and health. The State, therefore, has a 
life peculiar to itself, which must be protected from 
assault, either on the part of external enemies or 
of internal traitors. The Church, as the Family, 
deriving outward protection from the State, is that 
spiritual compact instituted for the honor of God, 
in which communities and individuals are trained 
for another state of being. Its office is to minister 
to spiritual necessities, and to protect our spiritual 
interests. The Family welcomes our new existence 
into the world, and cares for its necessitous help- 



lessness ; the State secures the welfare of our social 
life; and the Church prepares for eternal life here- 
after, while it also ministers to the good of the 
life that now is. And submission to every ordi- 
nance of man, in the Family, in the State, and in 
the Church, is a duty prescribed by the Christian 
religion, and enjoined upon all children, all citi- 
zens, and all baptized persons — a duty to parents 
and guardians, to rulers, to bishops and pastors. 
Neglect of this duty on the part of children is diso- 
bedience ; on the part of citizens, treason and crime; 
on the part of church members, it is sin and wick- 
edness, heresy and schism. As it is characteristic 
of good children to observe the laws of the house- 
hold and of the school, so it is characteristic of good 
citizens to observe the laws of the State, and of 
good christians to maintain their loyalty to Christ 
and the church. 

The service of this day, in its Epistle, calls upon 
us more especially to consider the duty which Chris- 
tians owe to the State or nation of which they form 
a part. And in times of such popular tumult and 
excitement as the present; when this great nation is 
divided in its allegiance to the general government 
under which we live, and thousands are on the one 
side preparing for its defence, and on the other for 



its destruction, it is of the utmost importance that 
every American Christian should know and do his 
duty. Forms of government and administrations 
of government are matters of choice } but govern- 
ment itself is of God, and cannot be disannulled or 
destroyed by men. It is no more a matter of choice 
than the divine institution of the family; and 
hence it is the duty of Gcd's people to be true and 
loyal to whatever government it is that gives them 
protection, and under which they live. 

When St. Peter wrote his Epistle to his fellow 
Christians scattered througout the Roman empire ; 
Nero, the worst of tyrants and the basest of men, 
was on the throne, by whose order St. Paul was 
beheaded at Rome (A. D. 66), and who, to enjoy 
the spectacle of a great fire, set Rome in a blaze, 
and then charged his own diabolical act upon the 
Christians, as a pretext for a general persecution 
against them. His governors were in the distant 
provinces where those Christians were to whom St. 
Peter sent his first Epistle, enjoining upon them 
submission to this iniquitous Emperor and his re- 
presentatives. A prejudice airainst Christians then 
existed in the public mind of the heathen that they 
were opposed to the Roman government, simply 
because they took no part in idolatrous spectacles 



and games. Refusing to pay divine honours to the 
images of the Emperor was construed into treason ; 
and the necessity of holding their religious assem- 
blages at night, and in secret places, was perverted 
into a design to form plots and conspiracies against 
the government. If they never appeared in the 
amphitheatre to witness the cruel sport of gladia- 
tors killing one another, and fighting with wild 
beasts, for the amusement of the populace, it was 
charged upon them that they were morose and sin- 
liular, and despised the generous policy of the gov- 
ernment in providing these delightful spectacles. 
The Nazarene Pretender, whom they called their 
Lord and King, had been hung on a cross in Jeru- 
salem, for treason, under Pontius Pilate; Paul and 
Silas were mobbed in Thessalonica at the instiga- 
tion of the envious Jews, who brought against these 
servants of the Lord Jesus the accusation that they 
and their fellow Christians " all did contrary to the 
decrees of Ctesar, saying, that there is another king, 
one Jesus" (Acts xvii., 7); an accusation of con- 
spiracy against the government so plausible, yet so 
groundless, that the rulers of the city were alarmed 
and the people agitated, so that the brethren of 
Paul and Silas sent them away by night, to avoid 
danger and tumult; nay, it was a common preju- 



6 



dice in those times that all Christians were traitors, 
and hence the exhortation of submission and loy- 
alty to established government so frequently given 
in the Apostolic writings. ^' Let every soul be sub- 
ject to the higher powers. For there is no power 
but of God : the powers that be are ordained of God. 
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth 
the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall 
receive to themselves damnation" (Rom. xiii., 1). 
^'Put them in mind to be subject to principalities 
and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to 
every good work (Titus iii., 1). ''Submit your- 
selves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's 
sake.'' " Render unto Caesar the things that are 
Cfcsar's." All this Christian duty of submission 
to the constituted authority of the land — all this 
duty of loyalty to the government under which we 
live, is too plain for argument. It was urged upon 
Christians in Apostolic times, so as to disarm the 
groundless prejudice that existed against their reli- 
gion and themselves, and so as to spare them in its 
observance from needless persecution and death. 
There can be no question now as to the obligation 
resting upon every Christian to observe the laws 
and to respect the authority of his country. It is 
equally binding now as in Apostolic times. It is a 



duty equally imperative under President Lincoln 
as under the Emperor Nero. To neglect it is not 
only treason against the U. S. government, but re- 
bellion against Grod. The only questions that can 
arise as to this important duty are, what is the 
reason of it, and what is the extent of it ? or, in 
other words, why ought we to obey the civil author- 
ity, and how far ought we to obey it ? 

The answer to the first question, why submission 
is due to civil government, is mainly because Grod 
so wills and orders it. This He does in the plainest 
language, and in the most direct manner. None, 
but a fool or a madman would presume to question 
it for a moment. As government in society at 
large is but the expansion of government in the 
family, so the fifth commandment of the Decalogue, 
enjoining obedience to parents, also implies obe- 
dience to magistrates and all in authority, civil and 
ecclesiastical. And as government on earth is but 
the imperfect exponent of government in Heaven ; 
as men in authority are the representatives of the 
King eternal, immortal and invisible, so obedience 
to lawful government is obedience to God, without 
which no creature can prosper and no order can be 
maintained. Without it society dissolves into a 
wild chaos, and all institutions for the good of men 



8 



perish. It is therefore God's will that Christians 
submit to the constituted, recognized and lawful 
authority of the land in which they live. Usurpa- 
tion of power for ambitious purposes ; treasonable 
attempts to overthrow government are to be rebuked, 
resisted, in obedience to the will of God. Kings 
may be tyrants, like Nero, or administrations of 
government may not be in accordance with the 
wishes and opinions of many, and yet the duty is 
plain that no Christian may raise hand or voice, or 
use his influence against the government itself. It 
is high time that as a people we began to under- 
stand that God is sovereign, and not ourselves. 
Political leaders and orators have so long sought 
place and power through the delusive flattery of the 
dear sovereign people, that they have come to be- 
neve that authority in governmental matters really 
does rest with them ; whereas the plain truth is, 
that all authority and power in the state, as in the 
church, are of God. We are taught in our Bibles 
that " Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor 
from the west, nor from the south. (!) But God is 
Judge : He putteth down one, and setteth up an- 
other (Ps. Ixxv, 6 and 7). ^' The Most High 
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to 
whomsoever He will" (Dan. iv., 25). Jesus said 



9 



to Pilate, " Thou couldest have no power at all 
against me, except it were given thee from above" 
(John xix.j 11). And if submission even unto 
death on the part of the Lord Jesus to that Roman 
jurisdiction in Palestine, which Almighty God 
established for wise purposes, was characteristic of 
His most holy life, surely insubordination to the 
supreme authority of this or any land can not be 
the characteristic of His people. Obedience to gov- 
ernment is obedience to God, due from all people. 

But again, in this connection it may be remarked, 
that tlie will of God is not arbitrary in establishing 
government, and requiring submission to it God 
has established all government for human good. 
and it is the interest as well as the duty of the 
people to submit to it. They thereby are enabled 
to lead quiet and peaceable lives, and to enjoy the 
varied good for which government was instituted. 
Disaffection and disobedience somewhere, have now 
set this nation in a blaze of civil war; and the peo- 
ple of this land, long blessed with peace and pros- 
perity, but forgetful alike of their own interest and 
of their duty to God, are now rushing to arms, that 
havoc, slaughter and desolation may teach them 
and their posterity, the one absolute necessity of 
submission to every ordinance of man for the 
Lord's sake. 



10 



The other question as to how far this obedience is 
to go. or what is its extent, is easily answered. To 
God the submission is absolute. To the State it is 
limited and regulated by the law of God. To man 
as His representative in authority, it is conditional 
upon a faithful representation and defence of those 
eternal principles of equity and justice, on which 
all governments are founded. It is not a question 
as to which form of government is best, whether mo- 
narchical or republican ; for as to the best forms of 
government men will differ, and the form of govern- 
ment best adapted to one country, may not be suit- 
able in another; but it is a question as to whether 
the government under which we now live is to be 
maintained, and to what extent. Men adapt the 
principles of government to their circumstances in 
republics and monarchies, as guided in their choice 
by the wisdom from above; but men do not and 
cannot disannul the principles themselves, because 
they are of God. The extent, therefore, to which 
submission is due to forms of government or admin- 
istrations of the same, is the full extent of their 
maintenance of the principles which underlie go- 
vernment, and to the full extent in which they se- 
cure the object for which government was insti- 
tuted, viz., the general good of the governed. To 



11 

administer any government in such a way as that 
all shall be satisfied of the equity and justice of it^ 
is no easy task. To rule in such a manner as that 
all shall experience an equal amount of good, is an 
impossibility. Must government be destroyed, then, 
when a portion of the people are dissatisfied ? No. 
Let them petition for a redress of grievances. Is 
revolution justifiable when a small faction dislike 
chosen and lawfully constituted authority? No. 
Let them patiently wait for a change, or by lawful 
means seek to make one. Pvcvolution is the last 
dreadful alternative of efi"ecting a change of govern- 
ment, when government ceases utterly to answer the 
ends for which it was instituted, when it disregards 
all justice and equity, and its ministry is only that 
of evil. Is rebellion ever justifiable ? No. For 
there are other and better ways of securing the good 
for which governments exist. It is never lawful to 
do evil that good may come. It is too easy and 
common a thing to abuse and denounce those in au- 
thority ; but let such as are given to this, remember 
the difiiculty of the position, and that if they them- 
selves occupied it, they would probably do no better. 
If those in power would rule in the fear of God, 
remembering that, like as mountains are elevated 
above the surrounding country only that they may 



12 



purify the air and condense the vapors, so as to give 
health and refreshment to the vallies below, so they 
are exalted to dispense good to those under them ; 
and if the governed would only learn to practise 
the duty of obedience and submission in a meek and 
quiet spirit, there would be no wars and rumors of 
wars to disturb society as now; there would be as 
now no disruption of States to shake the fabric of 
society to its centre as with the shock of an earth- 
(juake. When these mutual relations of rulers and 
people are disturbed, then the State is set on a blaze 
of war, like that of Abim.elech's conspiracy, when 
fire came out from Abimelech, and devoured the 
men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and 
when fire came out from the men of Shechem, and 
from the house of Millo, and devoured Abimelech. 
Two hostile parties arrayed in deadly civil strife, 
would destroy each other, until God decided the 
contest. If I be asked to what extent the govern- 
ment under which we live is to be obeyed and main- 
tained, I answer for myself, after some Httle obser- 
vation of governments in the Old World, it must be 
obeyed by all with heart and soul, cheerfully and 
loyally; and it must be maintained to the last dollar 
of the purse, and to the last drop of blood in the 
veins of the last man capable of defending it. 



13 



When amid the dangers and hardships of travel in 
foreign lands, where barbarous Turk and wily Arab 
make you tremble at the insecurity of life, you feel 
as never before, under God, what safety there is in 
a government whose power extends thus far for 
your protection. With tearful joy do you hail the 
flag of freedom floating over the houses of your 
country's ministers and consuls in Alexandria, in 
Jerusalem, in Beyrout, in Constantinople, every- 
where j and you feel on those distant shores that to 
be an American citizen is no empty boast, and that 
the ensign of the nation's power, and glory and 
greatness, is something that must be kept waving 
round the world forever. And now, and here at 
home, has this flag a meaning and a significance that 
it has never had in our eyes before. That men, 
calling themselves American citizens, should any- 
where on this soil wet by the blood of the Revolu- 
tion, fire upon that flag, and tear it down from its 
place in heaven, is a thing so monstrous, as to be 
beyond the possibility of comprehending it. Sub- 
mit to the domain and the douiiniou which it shel- 
ters, for the Lord's sake. If not for the sake of 
the government itself as now administered, yet for 
the Lord's sake — for the sake of the oppressed hu- 
manity that He came to make free — for the sake of 



14 



posterity and the good of His cliurcli, submit to it, 
even in its call to arms for its defence. It is worth 
preserving. It is worth fighting for. God calls us 
to its rescue from rebellion. The Lord speed the 
conflict to a righteous issue. If our submission 
must be unto death, as the Lord's was to the Roman 
government, so be it. Life is dearly bought by 
treachery The path of glory is the path of con- 
flict in a good cause. 

The governmeiit must be maintained, because 
God so wills it, and because it is our dearest inte- 
rest to do so. The government has not ceased its 
good to our people, nor is it without some justice 
and equity in its administration ; therefore, it must 
not yet be revolutionized and changed. If in 
tears, poverty, toil, privation, and in the din of 
battle, and the blood of the slain, any of us must 
submit to it for the Lord's sake, let us accept the 
sacrifice like men going to a holy sacrament, so- 
lemnly, determinedly, and in a spirit of heroic love. 



weo 



TRAITOR, SPARE THAT FLAG. 

Adaptation of " Woodman^ spare that Tree^ 

Traitor ! spare that flag I 

Touch not a single star ! 
Its shell'ring glory now, 

Still blazes near and far. 
'Twas our forefather's hand 

That placed it o'er our head ; 
And thou shall let it stand 

Or perish with the dead. 

That dear old precious flag, 

Whose glory and renown 
Are spread o'er land and sea, 

And would'st thou tear it down? 
Traitor, forbear thy touch ! 

Cut not its heart-bound ties I 
Oh, spare that glorious flag, 

Still streaming through the skies! 

When 1 was yet a boy, 

I gloried in the sight, 
And raised my voice in joy 

To greet its folds of light ; 
For it my home is dear, 

Dear is my native land ; 
Forgive this foolish tear. 

But let that old Flag stand. 

My heart strings round thee cling, 

Close as thy stripes old friend ; 
Thy glory men shall sing. 

Till time itself shall end; 
Old flag, th' storm still brave, 

And traitor, leave the spot. 
While I've a hsind to save, 

Thy touch shall harm it not. 

J P L. 




» jP-s 






